


Flowers For The Underworld: Companion Materials

by twodimensionaltrash



Series: The Chaldea Collection [5]
Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Author Commentary, Character Study, Cults, F/F, Holy Grail War (Fate), Identity Issues, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Notes, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Religious Conflict, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Research
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:01:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23011447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twodimensionaltrash/pseuds/twodimensionaltrash
Summary: At last, what you've waited for: pieces of the planned storyFlowers For The Underworld. A lot of heart and thought were poured into this story concept and the work surrounding it was no small matter. Each "chapter" will contain commentary and content related to the planned story, including entire chapter event descriptions outside of narrative format.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: The Chaldea Collection [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1145015
Kudos: 8





	1. Servant Reveal Lines

**Author's Note:**

> The year is 2020. My Mac Air, that had all of my writing, is unusable. I learned how to explore HFS+ files to acquire this from a Time Machine backup using my old dinosaur of a laptop that I got in 2009, which I'm currently using in place of a "real" computer. 
> 
> Kiss kiss, fall off a cliff.

When I revealed each Servant that was going to appear in Flowers For The Underworld, they came with a few quotations that highlighted roles they would play within the story. They were intended to be the summoning lines that each Servant would say within the initial meeting of their Master, some Servants featuring lines that came from later. They weren't going to reveal too much, but they would give the reader an idea (during the pre-release process) of what to expect of the relationship between each Servant and their Master. 

These were originally shared to Tumblr with each Servant's reveal. I won't say too much about the lines here because that might reveal a bit more than you need to know prior to reading the chapter-by-chapter plans that I had, but at a later point I'll go over what the story arc for each Servant and Master (and Servant/Master pair as a unit) was planned to be.

I think I shared these somewhere on this account but I can't remember or find any evidence that I did. I know I planned to at one point, but now that this has been waiting on me for actual factual months on end, there's no excuse not to share.

* * *

**Carmilla (Assassin)**

  * “You intended to summon Elizabeth Bathory, did you not? I came to the scent of fresh blood. A young girl is hiding behind your leg. This could not have been an accident. But, if you insist that it is...”
  * “They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, my dear. Let us show the meanings of the words.”
  * “No longer will you hide in the shadows of the men you serve, Master. They will pray to a new god.”



**St. Martha (Rider)**

  * "If I’ve been summoned here, He must be commanding me through you. He called to me across time, and it is His word that I obey, not yours. Since we have the same objective, however, we should cooperate.”
  * “You talk as if there’s any problem that can’t be solved with a fist... No, wait, ignore me! I said ‘Solving problems with you is the best!’”
  * “‘Peace!’ ‘Love!’ ‘Joy!’ ‘More peace!’ Is that all these people talk about? Ugh. If the end of the world really was coming, they’d look beyond stupid acting like that.”



**David (Archer)**

  * “Well, Master, I didn’t want to admit this, but I think I can trust you. Come here. Closer, so I can whisper it in your ear... I **really** don’t want to be here.”
  * “Contrary to popular belief, the fight against Goliath was always in my favor. I hit him right between the eyes with the almighty slingshot, which had the stopping power of a modern handgun. And the guy was HUGE. He couldn’t even see me! Small Lives Matter, am I right?”
  * “All you need to know in life is that men are fallible, and alcohol should be free.”



**Gilles De Rais (Saber)**

  * “Surely there is a place waiting for both of us in Hell, Master. I would prefer to go alone, but you appear to have a death wish of your own. We will likely end up there together at this rate.”
  * “For a supposedly ‘holy’ man, you act no better than... Than... Someone I knew, once, who failed the Holy Maiden. Perhaps you’ll meet him someday.”
  * “Aha... Ahaha! Breathtaking chastity, waiting to be stolen away like a star in the night! Burn, burn little star! If there is a greater joy on Earth than this, I challenge you to show me while you still shine!”



**Mephistopheles (Caster)**

  * “My only wish is to bring fun to this boring place. No ulterior motives. Nope. None. You can trust me, Master. I’ll put on a most excellent show. Ahaaa!”
  * “A jester in the court of Hell, you could call me. Peace begets the joy and love of men, but stirs nothing in the heart of the Devil. If he had a heart. …Pssst. He doesn’t. AHAHAHA.”
  * “You would call me a demon? Oh, I’m so wounded. How can I possibly go on? Eheh… hehehe…”



**Beowulf (Berserker)**

  * “I’ll turn a blind eye if you misbehave, Master, but only so much. I’ll never forgive your breach of our pact, and I’ll never forget your face after I beat it in. So don’t be a piece of shit.”
  * “If it doesn’t go down with a fist in the face, it’ll go down with a fist in the–hey, lady! Hands off unless you want to get tangled in punches or sheets.”
  * “Yeah, I’ve slayed a dragon or two in my day… What do you mean? Of course that’s a word. Mad? I don’t have an ounce of madness in me, so you must be calling me a moron. Say it one more time. See how well it goes for you, mate.”



**Ereshkigal (Lancer)**

  * “You’re the first person I’ve met that’s upset to find out goddesses exist! Gaaah. What am I supposed to do if you don’t believe in me? We aren’t going to survive if you don’t have a little faith, so I’d appreciate it if you could just pretend for five minutes or so that you care about the mess we’re in.”
  * “Stop trying to push me off on another Master, okay? I responded to your summons, not somebody else’s. A goddess chose you and you still want to give up over what some stupid old sycophant said. What the hell is wrong with you?”
  * “If that’s how you feel, then fine. Until further notice, I’m in charge of our two-man team. I don’t want to take orders from an idiot any more than you want to give them. Grow up and get a clue, or we’re both dead.”




	2. Notes And Research #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The starting points I used to go down the rabbit hole of information on how cults work. Gathered in hopes of creating an "authentic" fictional cult for the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was done over multiple days, and no, I have not, nor will I ever, start or join a cult. I wanted to write something dark and legitimate that felt like it could be happening in a suburb a dozen miles down the nearest state route. Here's where I started looking for that information.

**The Bretheren, Exclusive Brethren, Jesus Christians, The People’s Temple**

  * <https://www.watchman.org/index-of-cults-and-religions/>
  * <https://people.howstuffworks.com/jim-roberts-and-cult-garbage-eaters.htm>
  * <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brethren_(Jim_Roberts_group)>
  * <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Brethren>
  * <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/jun/02/familyandrelationships.features>
  * <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christians>
  * <https://www.quora.com/Do-cults-have-a-hierarchy-among-their-members-If-so-what-are-their-titles-and-duties>
  * <https://people.howstuffworks.com/cult2.htm>
  * <http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/CofC.htm>
  * <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/266-cults-as-power-structures>
  * <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF5zmgyJpd4>
  * <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqy_cFX8G2Y>



**Notes from News Pieces About Exclusive Brethren**

  * No prerecorded music, no cinemas, no movies, no technology, no access to popular culture
  * Left because of disagreeing with head fellowship and principles/practices and portrayal of faith
  * Disagreements starting off small but becoming more noticeable
  * Members trying to convince to stay, pressure to remain because they won’t succeed
  * Consequences: clinical culture shock, not knowing how things work or what he should or shouldn’t do
  * Family under pressure not to talk to him after leaving, indoctrination is on excommunication
  * You learn to readjust and put roots down elsewhere
  * No real support system but having a couple of people that are patient to teach
  * Expanding in their neighborhood without warning or without checking with laws
  * Gospel and bible study hall, several sessions a week, including 6am mass
  * Not allowed to look in the mirror
  * Believe they’re god’s chosen people
  * Formal dress, 1940s-1950s clothing style, men dress like Mormons, women conservative
  * Avoid unwanted exposure, call themselves a religion, is more like a cult sect
  * Stalking, intimidating, tailgating, following people who are investigating
  * Excommunication for being gay after being chemically castrated when asking for “help” (cyprostat prescription leaves men impotent)
  * Australia is largest percentage of Brethren members, 15,000 of the 48,000 worldwide
  * Never seeing family after leaving, having nightmares long after leaving
  * Government endorsing the cult after calling it a burden and extremist cult
  * Society giving hundreds of thousands to political candidates but do not vote



**Notes from JOIN US Sundance Documentary**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqy_cFX8G2Y>

  * The members of the church are sheep, and they are unable to see sinners or impure people. The pastor has to be the one to see the tainted people because he’s the one that hears from God and is god’s voice
  * Children beaten, bloody and bruised all over, to get the laziness and rebellion out of them, yanking their head and hair, dragging kids across the ground, leaving them in the closet
  * Parents not knowing how to be parents anymore because of their fear of letting themselves and their kids go to hell, let pastor do whatever they want




	3. Chapter 0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was intended to be the preface to the story. This probably wasn't going to be the tone/voice the whole story was told in, but I wanted something sharp and uncomfortable to create a feeling of discomfort early on. I still like this a lot as a preface, and I probably like it more now that I've been away from it for an extended period of time. I'm surprised with how clearly I managed to capture certain traits that really paint the "this is messed up" idea early on.

“For God to forgive our sins, we must be Christlike in all things,” the preacher says. The irony is not lost on Lyn.

His eyes scan over a child’s body as they would a crowd, though as usual he only shows interest in the young ones. The preacher calls the boy to the altar and commands him to kneel. The child, knowing no better, does. 

“Thank you, our Father God and Father Gregory,” the child says. Father Gregory places a hand upon the boy’s forehead and smiles. His ashen face appears to crack in half. The running joke is that he’s come to life from stone to preserve the holy words of the Lord. 

From the back row of pews, Lyn wishes she could receive that same affection. Instead, the only touch she receives from the preacher stings. The only words he speaks to her cut like daggers. The Lord acts through him, and the Lord doesn’t act without reason.

_ “Just like your mama,” he’d say. He’d wrap her hair around his fist and pull, eliciting a whimper, but never the tears he seemed to try for. “Lord’s blessed you. It’s the only thing you’re good for.” _

Father Gregory’s leer avoids her as it combs the congregation. Lyn tugs at her sleeves without thinking. She’d like to sit up front with the Thomas family. Being noticed may bring pain, but being ignored is just as bad.

After service, Father Gregory and Mother Georgia visit the communal kitchen, where Lyn prepares dinner with the other staff. She keeps her head down.

Mother Georgia interrupts Lyn’s skillful onion-chopping with a light tap on the counter. “Father Greg has requested tea be brought to the meeting hall. You know how he likes it  _ just so _ . Be a dear and prepare it for the boys?”

Lyn’s hands hover over the cutting board. Her head does not turn. She offers a curt nod to Mother Georgia. “I would be happy to, Mother.”

Mother Georgia frowns, and passes the look of disgust onto her husband, who shrugs in response. The Parents exit the kitchen, and the staff members bow their heads as they leave. 

Lyn stabs the knife into warped wood and leaves her post. Dishes used to serve Father Gregory must be hand-washed by children and rinsed by virgins. “Purity begets purity,” as Father Gregory would say. 

She considers breaking his favorite teacup as she lets steam from the wash basin scald her hands. Porcelain must be treated as the delicate material it is. Perhaps she could smash it on the concrete tile and blame her pre-existing injuries. 

Her fingers stick to the rubber gloves she must set the silver tray with. One pot filled with whistling water from the kettle; one cup and teaspoon for each of Father’s closest companions; the favorite teabags of each; and a set of thin cloth gloves to pour. 

“Shit.” She hisses when spilled water strikes her hand on her trip to the meeting hall, almost dropping her tray. It takes a moment to restabilize herself. “Lovely timing.”

The meeting hall is built of stone walls and plank floors; steps cause the rotting wood to creak. Chairs are too comfortable and tables are too polished to belong in this depressing space. Why anyone would light with torches in the 21st century is beyond her. 

Assigning tea to each cup and pouring water takes Lyn’s attention away from the conversation at hand. She catches a few choice words: blood; catalyst; ritual; summoning; servant. She comes to the conclusion that a servant of the Lord will have to give blood that will act as a catalyst during a ritual in hopes of summoning someone… or something. The less she knows, she thinks, the better.

Father Gregory regards her with a curt nod as she sets his plate and teacup at his place upon the table. While she sets the other gentlemen’s plates in the appropriate positions, they ask questions and make comments that she finds rather un-gentlemanly. Father hushes them as he might a child during a sermon. She is unsure whether or not to feel gratitude. 

As a chance for her to earn forgiveness, Father tasks Lyn with gathering materials for the coming ritual. The items, Father says, are irreplaceable for the coming events, and need to be delivered at a specific time tonight--no sooner, no later. He makes a list, which she jots down in her head to check off later, when she retrieves the items from the decrepit shed on the far side of the commune. 

Lyn shivers the thought of having to go to the crumbling shed hundreds of yards away from every other structure on-site, but shrugs it off once she’s alone. This is one of the least-ominous orders and simplest redemption opportunities he’s given. It’s best not to reject his kindness.

_ A stack of unmarked books; a collection of knick-knacks; a tattered journal with no cover; a bucket of red paint; and, as Father Gregory emphasized multiple times, a narrow box clasped shut by a gold lock. _


	4. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The explanation of events intended for the story's first chapter. Non-narrative format.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice the opening to this chapter vaguely resembles what became the introduction to chapter zero that I wanted to be the story's true "opening." Where zero sets the stage, this is where the inciting incident occurs. The action was intended to start early. By hitting a spike early on I could "slap" the reader, then build slower, steadier pacing throughout the rest of the story until it hits lesser slaps. Like the difference between slapping contest slaps and babies patting your face. Friendly reminder I haven't touched this in months and this is one of the drafting processes that helps me lay out what I want to do with a story.

“If we want God to forgive our sins, we must be Christlike in all things.”

The preacher scans his eyes over a child’s body as he does the crowds during sermon. His gaze is cold. His touch is colder. He calls a young boy up to the front of the hall and commands him to kneel. He, knowing no better, does.

In the back of her mind, MC wishes she could receive the same attention and praise the other children in the congregation do. Instead, the only touch she receives from the preacher sings, and the only words he speaks to her are daggers.

“Just like your mama,” he says. He’ll wrap her hair around his fist and pull. She’ll whimper, but will not cry. “Lord’s blessed you for that. It’s the only thing you’re good for.”

The bruises are easily covered by clothing, and her nervous habits are easy to suppress. So long as the other members of the congregation never see her falter, she might one day get to sit up front with her family. Right, her adoptive family. Her parents died when she was too young to remember, so the kind-hearted Thomas family took her in. She didn’t have to leave the Church when they adopted her, nope. They were kind enough to clothe her and feed her all the same as their own kids. Ma Thomas and Pa Thomas were the kindest souls alive. And her brothers, Thomas Thomas and George Thomas were two of a kind. She didn’t look like any of them, but she felt right at home her whole life.

Father Greg requested tea be brought to his personal chambers. His wife, Mother Georgia, headed the kitchen staff and directed main character to pot the piping water and prep the placemat on the tray. Father likes his tea “just so” and only drinks it in freshly-washed cups rinsed by the hands of the children. Purity passes more purity along, he says. So main character puts on squishy gloves and sets the cups on the silvery tray. She gets to Father’s counsel chambers and he’s seated at the head of the table with his friends around.

Main character sets the tray down. She moves to stand in the corner, saying nothing, eavesdropping, until she notices there aren’t enough cups. She hangs her head and apologizes for not having enough cups. The grown men glare at her, and Father demands she bring additional cups. She gets back to the kitchen and Ma Georgia shakes her head and is mad at main character for not knowing how many cups to bring. She has one of the small children wash additional cups, and main character carries them back to the meeting room. She pours hot water into each at the order of Father, and dips tea bags into each of them.

She listens loosely on the conversation but is more focused on setting their tea places. They start talking about blood and summoning and spirits. Her face turns red when they acknowledge her. They ask inappropriate questions about her, which Father knows the answers to, and she remains silent. The others are amused by how well Father knows her and crack jokes about her appearances. She says nothing.

Ultimately, she is asked to acquire materials for the holy ritual for Father. She is tasked with going to the back shed on the far side of the land and acquiring a stack of unmarked books, knick-knacks, journals, and red paint that are all in a box.

She returns them. She follows the apostles around that night, figuring she’d get punished anyway, and observes the summoning rituals the two lower-ranking men perform. Father says he will summon with Mother at another point. She’s mystified and scared, but too scared to speak. She sneaks away, cuts open her hand, and uses the blood to mimic the circles she saw them each make. She makes her crude imitation on the backside of the shed that faces away from the rest of the camp. It’s crude and poorly done and barely there, but she’s proud of herself.

The next day in sermons and chores she focuses extra hard to compensate for her sinning and berates herself for her curiosity. She punishes herself by not eating, and explains to her parents that she feels like a sinner because she selfishly felt curiosity and wanted to rebel. Her siblings recite script against that, and her parents assure her that she can repent properly after dinner.

Father comes to their cabin and requests to take a walk with main character. She follows him and fidgets with her clothes the whole time. He leads her to the shed, and he tells her why what she did was awful. He berates her, verbally assaults her. He goes to physically assault her, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her face across the summoning circle she painted. She cries, but says nothing, and under her breath she says words about not knowing what he was talking about etc. She tries to talk herself out of trouble, but the circle glows.

A spectral hand breaches the shed’s wall, growing outward. It passes through main character and reaches for preacher, who stumbles back. He, infuriated, pulls main character back with him. A second arm and then a whole ghostly body come out of the summoning circle, and a skeleton’s face on a ghost’s body screeches in the preacher’s face, demanding he leave the girl as sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting from the first "real" chapter the story was intended to have horror and thriller elements since it's not my usual wheelhouse and I wanted to toy with both. I really wanted to introduce Ereshkigal by the end of the first chapter and hit that pretty well by using her spectral projection form instead of her cute-girl form. The reader knows it's her from the fandom this is in and the context clues, but obviously Lyn doesn't know that at all, whatsoever.


	5. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will add commentary later.

The preacher agrees, has a brief conversation with the spirit, then runs off to get the apostles per the spirit’s request, leaving main character alone with a specter. The specter floats and looks in her direction, tilting its head, asking how she is feeling, calls her Master. Main character is too stunned to speak. Doesn’t know what to say, says nothing. The specter fades and vanishes before the preacher returns with the apostles, but the specter is gone. The preacher goes to shake main character for information, but when he goes for her, a glow surrounds her body and there is a haunting wail, and another warning. They become too scared to touch her, and instead lead her to a little solitary room for the night. Main character spends the night on an uncomfortable cot that’s supposedly used to remove demons. She stays alone, but the specter never leaves her, and any time the door opens, main character notices her skin start to glow, as if it’s deterring them. A flowery stigmata is burned into the back of her hand. She worries, but the specter explains it to her as the mark of a master. She has no idea what that means, but thanks her guardian angel for protecting her that night.

The next day, main character is led to the sermon by her uncomfortable looking parents. She sits in the front row next to them and wonders if for the first time the people can stop treating her like a second class citizen. The specter remains quiet, but there are moments where it comments on the ridiculousness of the sermon. Main character doesn’t reply because she’s in public, but she feels agitation that this ghost thing won’t leave her alone. At one point in the sermon, Father calls MC up and says that she has been possessed by a demon, which it was the responsibility of all to help remove from her body. It would take multiple cleansings, and she would serve out her punishment directly under him for collaborating with the devil.

The specter, pissed off by being talked about so poorly, communicates in MC’s mind, and eventually gives in to her frustrations. The specter grows outward from MC’s body, glowing like a reverse shadow, expanding to size to fill the entire church hall, arms wrapped on either side of the seated congregation. There are screams, and some silence. Some running in terror at the site. MC’s family is horrified. The apostles cower behind the Father. Father shakes his head because he definitely knows that the girl summoned a servant, and that this is it. They don’t know what it is but it’s big and spooky shit.

MC is also terrified, but the specter continues to communicate in her mind, using a feminine voice, assuring her that everything will be okay if she trusts. MC thinks this is a demon possessing her and wants to be cleansed, which pisses specter off more, and the specter commands the entire congregation to leave the church, that they will be punished for worshiping false idols and listening to fake preachers spewing the incorrect lessons of the gods.

The specter clears out the entire building with the threat of its big spooky hands reaching over them, and even the apostles run because they aren’t sure what to do with their servants and can’t have them in the public eye. The Father follows them out. MC is left alone in a church facing down a gigantic-ass specter. The specter apologizes for the dramatics and promises to make it up to her by winning the HGW. She doesn’t know what that means. The specter introduces itself as “Ereshkigal, Queen of the city of Kur, and Goddess of the Underworld.”


	6. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will add commentary later.

MC in the next chapter is like, lmao what? And the specter reasserts itself. The two of them have a quiet moment. MC notices some of the cool things about the specter, like the fact it has a crown and a veil, and says it’s a beautiful goddess. Ereshkigal reacts as she would. She promises to protect her master and win the HGW, which MC still doesn’t understand. Ereshkigal explains it while they’re in the church, and MC nods and smiles and rolls with it even though she has no idea.

As kind of a gift, Ereshkigal uses her specter form to spook the apostles into coughing up all documentation and information related to MC, claiming that she will happily take their souls from them if they’re not going to do anything useful with them. She demands that they leave it in a stack inside the church for MC to retrieve, and that she will be watching them the whole time. MC is able to retrieve the documents and takes them back home with her. Her family won’t eat with her or talk to her because of the demon, but Ma Thomas leaves a meal at her door for her, which she’s grateful for. She apologizes for what’s happening, and spends the night in her room speaking to Ereshkigal in her head.

The next day, MC is driven out of her house by the entire team of apostles on the grounds, with them citing she is impure and incapable of being purified in her current state. MC is forced to leave with nothing to her name. Ereshkigal, infuriated, curses the men that do this to MC. MC knows literal nothing about the outside world, but Ereshkigal promises to guide her since she has knowledge of the modern era--far more than her master.

She goes on a hunt for a place where they can stay the night, and Ereshkigal finds a legit church. She guides MC there and convinces her to go inside. MC sleeps in the church with Ereshkigal in spirit form watching over from outside at a comfortable distance. This church was far too long of a walk for either’s liking, but it turned out this was the church house had a master participating for the lesser HGW that was communicating with the arbitration church, though the cult doesn’t know that they got a mediator. Ereshkigal knows that if this was the arbitrator's church she wouldn’t be allowed to enter, so she chooses not to enter to be polite. MC obviously does not know this rule

MC wakes up to a pastor nudging her and asking her who she is etc.


End file.
